Antiphonary

This initial begins the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the Office of the Dead, "Credo quod redemptor meus vivit ..." (I believe that my redeemer liveth). As a series of prayers recited to help speed the soul to heaven, the Office of the Dead was usually illustrated with scenes from contemporary medieval funerary practices. In this initial, the priest sprinkles holy water on the corpse as two mourners kneel beside the bed.